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Loyola University Chicago Loyola eCommons Master's Theses Theses and Dissertations 1939 John Adams in the Continental Congress William A. Dehler Loyola University Chicago Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_theses Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Dehler, William A., "John Adams in the Continental Congress" (1939). Master's Theses. 132. https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_theses/132 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. Copyright © 1939 William A. Dehler JOHN ADAMS IN THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS by William A. Dehler, s. J. A THESIS SUBMITTED Il~ PARTIAL FULFILLiv:ENT OF TEE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IH LOYOLA 1J1UVERSITY AUGUST, 1939 VITA AUCTOiiiS William Andrew Dehler, s. J. was born January 24 1 1912 at Terre Eaute, Indiana. He received his elementary education at st. Benedict's Grammar School in that city from September, 1918 to June, 1926. He attended Wiley High School, Terre Haute, for one year. In September, 192'7, he was transferred to the high school division of St. IViarys College, St. Mary's, Kansas, and was graduated in June, 1930. In the fdllowing September, he matricu­ lated in the College of .Arts and Sciences of Notre Dame Univer­ sity. He entered the Novitiate of the Sacred Heart at Milford, Ohio, August 31, 1931, and was enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences of Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio. In June, 1935, he received the degree of Bachelor of Literature from Xav­ ier University. He was transferred, in September, 1935, to West Baden College, West Baden Springs, Indiana, and was registered at the same time as a graduate student of Loyola University in the Department of History. TABIE OF CONTENTS Page Chapter I The First Continental Congress 1 Chapter II The Appointment of Washington 18 Chapter III Toward Independence 35 Chapter IV The Declaration of Independence 54 Chapter v Committee Work 69 Chapter VI Character of John Adams 85 Bibliography 100 CHAP'rER I THE FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS Fearing that the Royal Governor would dissolve tl::.eir as­ sembly, the members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives ordered the doors of the chamber t.o be locked, June 17, 1774. They had important business to transact before they adjourned. By an overwhelming majority they voted to send delegates to Phil adelphia to consult with the delegates from the other colonies and to determine nwlse and proper measures ••• for the recovery and establishment of their just rights & liberties, civil and religious, and the restoration of union & harmony between Gre~t Britain and the Colonies.ttl Finally they selected five delegates to represent the colony of Massachusetts and passed a resolution to provide their expense money. Meanwhile tbe Governor's Secretary had brought an order for the dissolution of the House. He did not, however, gain ad­ mlttance, for the assembly confirmed by vote their previous order to keep the doors locked. In vain the Secretary published the proclamation on the stairs leading up to the chamber; the members of the House did not vote to adjourn until they had completed their work.2 Thus ended the last provincial assembly in Massa­ chusetts under the royal prerogative. One of the five delegates chosen was John Adams, a man of 2 thirty-eight years just rising to great prominence as a lawyer. Although he had gained considerable recognition by his formal protest against the Stamp Act before Chief Justice Hutchinson and had refused a lucrative post offered by the royal authorities as an indirect bribe, John Adams was far from being an outstand­ ing patriot leader. With full confidence, however, Samuel Adams and Joseph Hawley had often consulted him in a legal capacity; now they decided to call him to more direct service in the cause of American liberty. This choice was a surprise to John Adams. He had hoped to avoid public affairs. Now that he could reasonably expect his law practice to provide comfortably for his family needs, to sacrifice this professional career even for a time cost him not a little regret.3 A stronger reason for surprise was the con­ sciousness of his own lack of experience. In sharp contrast to his usual vanj_ty, John Adams confessed, ttThis will be an assembly of the wisest men upon the continent ••• I will feel myself unequal to this business. A more extensive knowledge of the realm, the colonies, and of cow~erce, as well as of law and pol­ icy, is necessary, than I am master of.tt4 He regarded the Con­ gress as a "school" and a "nursery of American Statesmen" and regretted that he could not prepare for the forthcoming term by reading points in Law, Politics, and Commerce.5 If only he were not obliged to make his professional circuit through the present state of Maine during the last two months before Congress con- 3 vened, he could review his Law and History, and then he nmight appear with less indecency before a variety of gentlemen, whose educations, travels, experience, family, fortune, and everything" gave them a vast superiority.6 Unfortunately, familiarity breeds contempt; this saner and truer outlook gave way to vain conceit soon after John Adams came in contact with the 11 wisest men upon tb.e continent. u Not w1til 1774 did Adams step out of the narrow confines of New :Sngland. The ride southward to Philadelphia in the com­ pany of his colleagues, Thomas Cushing, Samuel Adams, and Robert Treat Paine, was his first opportunity "to see the world and to form acquaintances with the most eminent and famous menu in the colonies.? With the ovations tendered the delez:sates in Connecticut, John Adams was very much pleased. The reception at lJew Haven excelledin ceremony the treatment accorded a ttGovernor of' a Provincett or a uGeneral of an Army.n A large escort came out to meet them; the people crowded to the doors and windows; bells rang; and cannons boomed out a welcome. Adams properly inter­ preted these respectful attentions as a demonstration of sy~pathy for the suffering province of Massachusetts and of expectation of great results from the Congress.8 Thus the journey was more like a triumph than a trip to the scene of labors. For the most part the people along the route were very :favorably inclined to the meeting of Congress, though Adams thought ttsome persons in 4 Hew York and Philadelphia wanted a little animation.u9 After nineteen days on the road the delegates from Massachusetts were escorted into the city of Philadelphia to the City Tavern.l0 During the next few days they were busy forming acquaintances with the delegates arriving from the other colonies. Before leaving their native province, the Bay Colony delegates had been warned against acting in a manner likely to hiEder the unity and harmony of the Congress. The opinion was somewhat prevalent in the other colonies that uMassachusetts gen­ tlemen ••• do affect to dictate and take the lead in continen­ tal measures" and ''to assume big and haughty airs.u Consequently, Joseph Hawley cautioned the delegates to act with circumspection. Knowing well the particular propensities of John Adams, Hawley assured him that men of. equal ability would represent the other colonies and wa.rned him against giving 11 umbra~:;e, disgust, or affront" to members of Dutch, Scotch, or Irish descent.ll Again at Frankfort, just before their arrival in Philadel­ phia, the four lilassachusetts .delegates received advice from Dr. Rush, ~ifflin, Bay&rd, and other "active sons of liberty" in Philadelphia, vfho had come out to meet them. '.L'he New ::i:nglan.d Tories had spread reports abroad that these four dele3ates were "desperate adventurerstt a::J.d poor men who courted popularity. Since their native colony had felt the chastening rod of England, the Massachusetts delegates were considered tttoo warm, too zeal­ ous, too sanguinett in their opposition to tho Eother Country. 5 Consequently, Dr. Rush and his companions pointed out that under these circumstances Adams and his colleagues must surrender the honor of leading to the delegates from the Old Dominion to whom the other colonies would willingly concede first place in the Congress. John Adams confessed himself deeply impressed by this sound advice and to i~ in later years, attributed the leadership of Virginians during the American Revolution.l2 In Congress a strong prejudice against the Bostonians in­ clined many members to listen to their sentiments with great caution. John Adams and his colleagues were forced to keep them selves "out of sight, and to feel pulses, and to sound the depths to insinuate ••• sentiments, designs, and desires, by means of other persons, sometimes of one province, and sometimes of another."l3 Surely they had a "delicate course to steer between too much activity and too much insensibility" in the critical situation of their province at this time.l4 The Bostonians were so circumspect and cautious that Caesar Rodney spoke of them as more moderate than the delegates from Virginia and the Carolinas, Even Galloway remarked that the Bostonians were very modest "in their Behavior and Conversationu yet "not so much so as not to throw out Hints.ttl5 While John Adams found many of the members "full of pre­ judices and jealousies" which he had not expected, he too was prejudiced and ignorant of other colonies.l6 Willingly, however he sacrificed himself for the sake of the cause.
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